Maintenance Supervisor

Thorne; Summerville (SC); On-site; USD 75,000 - 115,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision for employees

401k with employer matching

Disability insurance

Life insurance

Gym membership reimbursement

Paid time off & holidays

Training & career growth

Job summary

Thorne is seeking a Maintenance Supervisor in Summerville, SC to lead day-to-day maintenance within our manufacturing operations. You will drive preventive and corrective maintenance, manage a team of tech leads and technicians, and ensure equipment reliability while meeting cGMP standards.

You will collaborate with Production, Engineering, and Quality to minimize downtime, improve performance, and support manufacturing objectives.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of industrial maintenance experience in a manufacturing environment.
• 2+ years of supervisory or team leadership experience preferred.
• Associate or bachelor’s degree in a technical, engineering, manufacturing, or related discipline preferred.
• Experience troubleshooting and maintaining industrial manufacturing equipment.
• Familiarity with reliability, RCA, FMEA, and TPM.
• Experience with CMMS systems (eMaint preferred).
• Experience in regulated manufacturing environments (cGMP, nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, etc.) preferred.

Responsibilities

• Plan, prioritize, supervise, and participate in preventive maintenance, equipment setups, inspections, repairs, troubleshooting, and installation activities.
• Provide frontline leadership during equipment breakdowns to minimize downtime.
• Drive root cause analysis of equipment failures and implement corrective actions.
• Establish maintenance schedules and practices to maximize availability and reliability.
• Ensure equipment remains in designed/validated state and inspection readiness.
• Lead maintenance activities during breakdowns, outages, and projects.
• Develop technicians and foster a safe, compliant team environment.
• Coordinate with Production, Engineering, and Quality on installations and improvements.
• Monitor spare-parts inventory and ensure proper work-order charging and documentation.

Skills

Frontline Leadership

Technical Troubleshooting

Equipment Reliability

Safety & Compliance

Team Development

Cross-Functional Collaboration

Planning & Prioritization

Continuous Improvement

Initiative

Attention to Detail

Communication

Education

Associate or bachelor’s degree in a technical/engineering/manufacturing field (preferred)

Tools

CMMS (eMaint preferred)

Job description

Maintenance Supervisor

Department: Maintenance - Corporate

Employment Type: Full Time

Location: Summerville, SC

Reporting To: Jared Fowler

Description

At Thorne, we work to deliver high-quality, science-backed solutions to empower individuals to take a proactive approach to their well-being. Each day begins with a mission to help others discover and achieve their best health. We count on our team members to challenge and push the boundaries to make that happen. At Thorne, you’ll be joining a team of more than 750 passionate individuals committed to our cause of providing superior health solutions at every age and life stage.

The Maintenance Supervisor is responsible for leading day-to-day maintenance execution within Thorne’s manufacturing operations, ensuring equipment and systems are maintained safely, reliably, and in accordance with quality and regulatory requirements.

This role provides frontline leadership to Maintenance Tech Leads and Technicians, overseeing preventive and corrective maintenance, equipment breakdown response, work order execution, repairs, inspections, installations, and planned project work. The Maintenance Supervisor drives equipment reliability, schedule adherence, root cause problem solving, and team accountability while ensuring manufacturing equipment remains in its designed and/or validated state and inspection-ready.

Serving as a critical link between the strategy established by the Maintenance Manager and hands-on execution on the production floor, this position works closely with Production, Engineering, and Quality to minimize downtime, improve equipment performance, and support manufacturing objectives.

The ideal candidate is an experienced industrial maintenance professional and hands-on leader with strong mechanical and electrical troubleshooting capabilities. This individual is comfortable leading maintenance teams in a fast-paced manufacturing environment, responding to equipment failures, driving preventive maintenance execution, and developing technicians while maintaining high standards for safety, cGMP compliance, reliability, and operational performance.

Work Schedule

• Provides supervisory coverage for the 2nd shift Monday - Friday 5pm - 2am.
• Must have flexibility to adjust the work schedule based on operational needs, including Saturdays and occasional Sundays during outages, corrective maintenance activities, and project execution windows.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Plan, prioritize, assign, supervise, and participate in preventive maintenance, equipment setups, inspections, repairs, troubleshooting, and installation activities for Thorne’s manufacturing equipment.
• Provide frontline leadership during equipment breakdowns, ensuring timely troubleshooting and repair to minimize production downtime.
• Drive root cause analysis of equipment failures and implement corrective actions designed to prevent recurrence.
• Establish maintenance schedules, methods, and inspection practices that maximize equipment availability and reliability.
• Ensure manufacturing equipment remains in its designed and/or validated state and maintains a constant state of inspection readiness.
• Perform and support skilled and semi-skilled maintenance mechanic, technician, and machinist activities as operational needs require.
• Partner with Production, Engineering, and Quality on new equipment and system installations, modifications, repairs, and improvements.
• Identify equipment reliability risks and proactively recommend solutions that improve performance and reduce unplanned downtime.

• Manage preventive maintenance and work order execution across the assigned team.
• Ensure preventive maintenance activities are completed accurately and according to established schedules.
• Hold team members accountable for timely completion and closure of work orders and adherence to established maintenance processes.
• Ensure spare parts are appropriately charged to work orders and maintenance documentation is accurate and complete.
• Monitor critical spare-parts inventory and ensure appropriate on-hand quantities are available to support maintenance and manufacturing operations.
• Use CMMS tools to support maintenance planning, work-order management, preventive maintenance, documentation, and equipment history.
• Review maintenance information and performance data to identify trends, recurring failures, and opportunities to improve reliability.

• Lead and develop a high-performing maintenance team of Tech Leads and Technicians.
• Establish clear expectations for safety, quality, maintenance execution, productivity, responsiveness, and accountability.
• Provide ongoing coaching, feedback, technical guidance, and development to strengthen individual and team performance.
• Support the development of technical capabilities and future leaders within the Maintenance organization.
• Conduct formal and informal performance assessments and provide actionable feedback to team members.
• Identify staffing, training, and capability needs and partner with Maintenance leadership to address gaps.
• Foster a collaborative, accountable, safety-focused team environment.
• Promote effective communication and coordination across shifts to ensure continuity of maintenance activities and priorities.

• Ensure maintenance activities are performed safely and in accordance with cGMP, OSHA, internal quality requirements, SOPs, and established maintenance procedures.
• Maintain equipment, maintenance documentation, and work practices in a constant state of inspection readiness.
• Reinforce adherence to safety requirements, appropriate PPE, equipment procedures, and applicable maintenance standards.
• Promote continuous improvement in workplace safety, environmental practices, 5S, waste reduction, and maintenance processes.
• Identify and elevate maintenance, safety, quality, or operational risks promptly.
• Partner with Quality, Engineering, Production, and other stakeholders to ensure maintenance activities support regulatory and operational requirements.

• Coordinate and oversee maintenance and project work performed by external contractors and vendors.
• Ensure contractors comply with applicable safety, quality, maintenance, and site requirements.
• Participate in the development and improvement of maintenance standards, policies, procedures, staffing plans, and capital needs.
• Support equipment installations, modifications, outages, corrective maintenance, and planned project execution.
• Apply reliability and continuous improvement methodologies to reduce equipment failures, improve maintenance effectiveness, and increase manufacturing availability.
• Promote 5S, workplace safety, environmental improvements, process optimization, and waste reduction.
• Identify opportunities to improve maintenance processes, equipment reliability, team effectiveness, and operational performance.
• Evaluate maintenance and equipment data and prepare clear technical reports and recommendations for leadership.
• Keep the Maintenance Manager informed of significant operational risks, equipment concerns, opportunities, and recommended actions.

WHAT YOU NEED

Education & Experience

• 5+ years of industrial maintenance experience within a manufacturing environment required.
• 2+ years of supervisory or team leadership experience preferred.
• Associate or bachelor’s degree in a relevant technical, engineering, manufacturing, or related discipline preferred.
• Demonstrated experience troubleshooting and maintaining industrial manufacturing equipment.
• Experience with equipment reliability and maintenance methodologies, including Reliability, Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA), Root Cause Analysis (RCA), and Total Productive Maintenance (TPM).
• Experience using a Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS); experience with eMaint preferred.
• Previous experience within cGMP nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, food, or another regulated manufacturing environment preferred.
• Experience with high-speed encapsulation equipment is a plus.
• Experience leading maintenance activities during equipment breakdowns, outages, preventive maintenance, and project execution preferred.

Technical Knowledge

• Strong knowledge of industrial maintenance practices and manufacturing equipment.
• Strong troubleshooting capabilities across mechanical, electrical, pneumatic, and automated equipment.
• Knowledge of preventive, predictive, and corrective maintenance practices.
• Understanding of equipment reliability methodologies, including RCA, FMEA, and TPM.
• Working knowledge of cGMP requirements and their application to maintenance activities within regulated manufacturing environments.
• Understanding of equipment validation requirements and the importance of maintaining equipment in its approved designed and/or validated state.
• Knowledge of CMMS functionality, preventive maintenance scheduling, work-order management, equipment history, and spare-parts tracking.
• Ability to read and understand technical documentation, equipment manuals, SOPs, maintenance procedures, and applicable cGMP requirements.
• Ability to evaluate equipment and maintenance data, identify trends, and prepare technical reports for leadership.
• Working knowledge of workplace safety requirements and safe industrial maintenance practices.
• Strong computer skills and ability to learn and effectively use maintenance and business software systems.

Core Competencies

• Frontline Leadership: Provides clear direction, establishes expectations, and creates accountability across the maintenance team.
• Technical Troubleshooting: Effectively evaluates equipment failures and guides teams toward timely, sustainable solutions.
• Equipment Reliability: Focuses beyond immediate repair to identify root causes and prevent recurring equipment failures.
• Safety & Compliance: Maintains high standards for safe work practices, cGMP compliance, equipment validation, and inspection readiness.
• Team Development: Coaches and develops technicians, strengthens technical capabilities, and supports future leaders.
• Decision-Making: Makes sound decisions in time-sensitive maintenance and production environments.
• Problem Solving: Uses structured analysis and technical expertise to address complex maintenance and operational challenges.
• Accountability: Takes ownership of maintenance execution and holds the team accountable for commitments, work quality, documentation, and results.
• Communication: Communicates clearly with technicians, Production, Engineering, Quality, contractors, and leadership.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Builds effective partnerships across departments to support equipment performance and manufacturing objectives.
• Planning & Prioritization: Effectively manages competing preventive maintenance, corrective maintenance, breakdown, and project priorities.
• Continuous Improvement: Identifies opportunities to improve reliability, processes, safety, efficiency, and team performance.
• Initiative: Works independently with minimal direction and proactively raises risks, concerns, and recommended solutions.
• Attention to Detail: Maintains accuracy in maintenance execution, work orders, technical reporting, and compliance activities.

WHAT WE OFFER

• Competitive compensation
• 100% company-paid medical, dental, and vision insurance coverage for employees
• Company-paid short- and long-term disability insurance
• Company- paid life insurance
• 401k plan with employer matching contributions up to 4%
• Gym membership reimbursement
• Monthly allowance of Thorne supplements
• Paid time off, volunteer time off and holiday leave
• Training, professional development, and career growth opportunities